


all i want for christmas is (not) you, baby;

by hizzie



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/F, revamp from an old fic from an old fandom lol, uma makes questionable jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:54:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21919426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hizzie/pseuds/hizzie
Summary: The first time she’d come home to find Mal dramatically performing both parts of Endless Love to the cat instead of her she found it slightly endearing. Adorable, even.And then it happened again.And again.And then it was Unchained Melody as she twirled around with the cat, and then there were the reenactments of Titanic scenes.or, day 10 of deardescendants' 12 days of christmas.
Relationships: Evie & Mal (Disney), Evie/Mal (Disney)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 68
Collections: DearDescendants' 12 Days of Holidays





	all i want for christmas is (not) you, baby;

**Author's Note:**

> hello!!! this is a revamp/rough edit of this one old fic i had written originally for a different fandom. changed some things around & replaced some other things so now here she is :)

Evie thinks she was fooling herself when she thought that giving Mal the cat she wanted so badly wouldn’t be a problem. 

It had all started in November, when the white-bordering-on-lavender haired woman had asked her for a pet. Evie knew that she’d always wanted to have a pet but was never able to have one due to her mother’s allergies. Evie hadn’t thought much of it -- sometimes, Mal just mentioned things for the sake of mentioning. She wouldn’t even remember she’d talked about it in a few days. 

Except, that wasn’t really the case. Mal had mentioned it again, and then again, and then once more. Evie realized that there wouldn’t be much beating around the bush on this one -- and it’s not like she hated the idea of getting a pet. No, she actually loved animals, and she’d had one growing up. And because of that, she knows how difficult they can be when it comes to, you know, keeping her perfectly tidy and clean apartment, well, _ perfectly tidy and clean.  _

So that ‘s why immediately she rules out puppies - they’re adorable and cute, but they’re definitely not known for being super organized and definitely super known for requiring a lot of attention -- and, well, Evie loves her girlfriend to death, but Mal’s enough trouble as it is. So, they settle on a cat, which was kind of perfect -- Mal did love cats a whole lot.

So, Evie had made plans with her friend and her girlfriend’s best friend, Uma, to meet her up at the animal shelter Carlos owned to get Mal the pet she so badly wanted.

And, frankly, if this already didn’t make Evie like, the best girlfriend in the entire universe, the fact that she was willingly submitting herself to what felt like hours of pussy jokes over the phone by Uma, from the moment she told her she was getting Mal a cat to the moment she’d hung up on her mid-joke would probably do it.

So, a few weeks into December, as soon as Mal had left for work and Evie had gotten dressed, she’d shot Uma a text to let her know she was leaving so they could meet at the shelter, getting a quick and vibrant  _ “omgg can’t wait to see what new pussy you’re gonna take home today!!”  _ in reply which almost got Evie to make an illegal U-turn and go right back home and forget all about this idea.

Carlos’ animal shelter was about 15 minutes away from her apartment, and the shelter was connected to a petstore that Uma managed and co-owned with Carlos. Uma loved all things nature, marine nature in specific, and the store allowed her to spend most of her time around fishes and things of the sort while she made sure the store was running smoothly while Carlos, with his veterinary degree and intense love for dogs and all living creatures, took care of each and every animal in the shelter, with the occasional help from Gil or Jay whenever they could. 

Evie parked her car in front of the shelter and got out, quickly making her way to the store and gasping loudly in surprise as a body collided with hers as soon as she’d stepped inside the shelter. Uma had grabbed Evie in a bear hug and literally had swept the taller girl off her feet, squeezing the life out of her. Carlos had told her to let Evie go with a smile, and when Uma had complied, it was his turn to hug his best friend. Carlos gave Evie a quick peck on the cheek before he left to check on the dogs, telling Uma to please behave. 

Uma grabbed Evie by the wrist and dragged her to the opposite direction of where Carlos had disappeared into, where Evie knew the kittens to be at. Uma had a big, excited smile on her face, and Evie wasn’t quite sure if her excitement was more towards her best friend getting the pet she’s always wanted, or towards the fact that Evie had practically handed her an opportunity to tease the fuck out of her on a silver platter.

She gets her answer almost immediately.

“Okay, Evie, you say your woman wants another pussy to play with, is that right?” Uma smirked, raising an eyebrow and a teasing sparkle appearing in her eyes. Evie rolled her eyes.

“I thought this was a respectable, professional place?” Evie responded, feigning curiosity. “Oh, silly me, no place co-owned by you could ever be professional.”

Uma fake gasped, feigning indignation, “You take that back before I tell Mal why you’re afraid of birds.”

Evie’s eyes widened. “How do _ you _ know that?”

“Um, hello? I do date Harry Hook, biggest blabber mouth of the century?” 

“Right,” Evie sighs, and then her light brown eyes narrow as she takes her friend’s winning smile, “You wouldn’t.”

“I’d like to think you know me well enough to know that I definitely would,” Uma responds, voice earnest, and Evie scoffs before rolling her eyes. Clearing her throat and clapping her hands together, Uma’s face lights up again. “So, let’s get straight into business? Or, well, as straight as a lesbian looking for a pussy for her bisexual girlfriend can be, in this case.”

Deciding to rise above it and ignore the comment, Evie starts scanning the cages, and Uma stands to the side, now used to Evie’s organized nature -- they both shared those same traits, which is why Uma thinks it’s fitting that Mal had fallen for Evie. Someone had to keep that girl in check when she couldn’t. Uma tells Evie bits and pieces about each kitten that catches her attention for more than a few seconds, and Evie listens with rapt attention.

After a good half an hour, Evie had a tiny white cat with big green eyes in her arms, petting his small furry head and smiling as he purred into her, “This is the one. Mal’s gonna love him, he looks like her.”

Uma chuckled and nodded, agreeing. “He’s a little shit and gets bullied by the other cats, too. He’s definitely like Mal.”

Evie coos at the kitten in her arms. “Are you gonna take him home today or you gonna wait a few more days? He doesn’t have a name yet, by the way.”

Evie chuckles lightly as the kitten pats her face with his little paws and thinks for a moment. 

“Christmas is next week, and I still gotta buy his things and prepare the apartment,” Evie pauses, biting her lip for a second before she continues, “Can you like, make sure no one takes him?”

Uma nods, reaching for the small kitten and giving him a small peck to his little face, chuckling when he meows in response. She puts him back in his cage and ties a small red ribbon on one of the gaps after she latches the cage shut. Evie gives her future child a small wave, chuckling and awing when the kitten meowed madly at Uma, seemingly annoyed to be back in the cage. 

“Hey, why don’t you take the stuff at the store today?” Uma asks as they walk out of the area and then out of the shelter and into the store. Evie nods, not seeing why not, and Uma smiles as she grabs one of the animal shaped carts they had to amuse the children and demanded that Evie got in.

“Absolutely not, Uma.” 

“Come on, I’ll seriously give you everything for free. Please?!” Uma begged, a small pout on her face as she rolled the cart back and forth. 

These are the moments that Evie understands why Mal has so many scars and so many stories from the times Uma had gotten her to do something dumb. Uma always drove a hard bargain.

“I won’t fit.” 

“Yes, you will! I’ve literally seen Jay pushing Harry and Gil around the store with one of these so many times. Come on, please?”

Evie shook her head but sighed in defeat before she climbed onto the cart, crossing her legs and setting her arms on the sides of the cart and rolling her eyes at Uma’s loud cheers.

“This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me,” Uma stated happily as she began to stroll the cart into the first aisle. 

“I feel like Harry would be a bit hurt if he knew that.”

“He would understand. You’re in an animal shaped cart, Evie.” 

Evie rolled her eyes and decided not to answer. Uma strolled her around the store, stopping by every relevant aisle and throwing things she thought would be necessary on Evie’s lap. Evie didn’t interfere, knowing that Uma knew more about this than she did; she only ever did voice her opinion when the other girl would turn and ask her which color option she preferred. 

When they were done, Evie’s lap was filled with cat food, toys and items she wasn’t sure what they were for. Uma walked past the cashier and pushed the cart out the door with Evie still in it. The Latina rolled her eyes.

“I feel like you should let me pay for at least one thing,” Evie commented from inside the shopping cart. 

“Nah, consider it my Christmas gift to you two before we get turnt on Christmas’ Eve.”

“First, nobody’s getting turnt on Christmas Eve, my abuela is gonna be there,” Evie started, “second, I need to be sober when I give Mal her present, which, in case you don’t remember, is a living creature.”

“Fine, your abuela can get turnt in your place, then.”

“She absolutely cannot!” 

“Lame,” Uma muttered. 

“Third,” Evie said, giving Uma a pointed look, “how are you even going to remember what’s missing from your inventory?” 

The cart came to a stop beside Evie’s car and Uma tapped a manicured finger to Evie’s temple. “I graduated at the top of my class for a reason. I know everything that I took. Besides, I can just watch the security cameras if it comes down to it,” Uma grins. Evie’s lips form a thin line, “Ugh, I’ll even let Carlos know that I gave you all this stuff, if that makes it any better. You just really should start worrying about where you’re gonna hide all this stuff in your apartment, instead of acting so ungrateful.” 

“Fuck,” Evie groaned. That detail had escaped her. She brainstorms for a second. “Um, I guess I could hide it in the closet. Mal never goes there because it’s a mess and she thinks I’ll make her clean it if she does.” Evie said, referring to the space in the hallway that stored some of her bigger coats and shoeboxes and basically anything that Mal has ever owned. The platinum blonde thought her girlfriend didn’t know that Mal would literally shove everything she could inside the closet and forget about it two days later, thinking that ‘getting rid of stuff you don’t use anymore’ meant just that. Evie could literally hide the cat stuff inside a box of hers and like, a dead body, that Mal would never know because she genuinely did not acknowledged the existence of said closet for fear that Evie would make her clean up after herself.

“Alrighty,” Uma nods, having heard of that said closet a few times before. She started loading up Evie’s car, and Evie stood up to get out of the cart once Uma was done tossing the things inside her car trunk. She was about to get out when Uma grabbed her by the legs, making the other girl shriek as she carried her over her shoulder to the driver’s seat. One hand opened the door while her other threw the girl inside the car with ease. Evie would never truly understand how such a small creature such as Uma could be so freakishly strong and physically apt to do such things.

“You’re such an asshole, I don’t know why I deal with you,” Evie huffed, glaring at her girlfriend’s best friend as she fixed her disheveled hair.

“Because I’m amazing and wonderful and Mal loves me and  _ you  _ love me despite my very few flaws. Also, I have amazing hair and skin and am fit as hell,” Uma counted out on her fingers and then winked. “Well, then, bye mama, have a safe drive. Have fun hiding the pussy toys from Mal!” She grins and then slams the door shut in Evie’s face.

The brunette blinked.

“Unbelievable.”

-

It’d taken Evie a few minutes to get everything from her car trunk to the spare closet; she’d taken her time in organizing what would fit into the boxes and hiding the larger items in the back, hidden away from view, and cursing Uma silently whenever she found something she didn’t think was wildly necessary for a kitten. And also cursing at Mal, a little bit, for the complete and utter chaos that that closet found itself in thanks to the blonde. Because of her organizing and cursing, she didn’t hear it when the front door opened and was just putting the last box away and closing the door when her girlfriend shouted in her ear and made Evie let out what was probably the highest shriek in history, giving Mariah  _ and  _ Ariana both a run for their money.

Evie turned around with a glare and shouted “Mal!” indignantly, but her girlfriend was laughing far too much to pay her any mind, having to lean against the wall to catch her breath.

“You’re such an asshole, you could’ve caused me a legit heart attack,” Evie hisses, her heart still pounding against her chest from the scare.

Mal took deep breaths and wiped her eyes as she tried to control herself, and when her eyes had focused on Evie, she had to bite her lips to stop herself from losing it again at the angry look on her girlfriend’s face.

“Aw, E,” Mal cooed, stepping forward and giving the taller girl playful pecks on her soft lips. “Do you think you can forgive me?” Mal teased between pecks. Evie was so easily swayed when Mal turned on the cute factor, Mal found it very amusing. She thinks she might actually legit set their couch on fire that Evie would like, not kill her if she gave the Latina a puppy eyed look and a kiss. 

Evie brought a hand to her girlfriend’s face to cup her jaw, trying to pull her in for a deeper kiss.

Mal leaned back with a chuckle, “E, I’m all gross and sweaty. I was at the gym with Jay.”

The taller girl ignored her and tried to pull her back in.

“E,” Mal dragged out with a chuckle. 

“I don’t care that you smell awful, let me kiss you,” Evie whined, and when Mal gave her a look, she sighed. “What?”

“Nothing,” Mal chuckled, amused at her girlfriend that was beginning to sound like a petulant child. Evie tended to get like that at times - Mal thought it was cute. She gave into Evie’s pleas and gave her a chaste peck to her lips, “What were you looking for in that closet, anyway?” It was Evie’s turn to chuckle once she heard the fear creeping into Mal’s voice. 

“You,” Evie retorted, a satisfied grin on her face, and Mal squinted.

“Aren’t you sharp?” Mal said with a small amused smile, “I take it you’ve spent some time with Uma today?”

“Mm, maybe.” Evie mumbled as she pulled Mal into a firmer embrace. “How was work today?”

“It was okay. Not much happened,” Mal shrugged. Evie nuzzled into Mal’s neck and closed her eyes as she listened to Mal’s voice more so than the actual words, “Workout with Jay was fun, though. I managed to outrun Jay and set a new personal record. Then we went back to Jay’s place and I made this kick-ass smoothie that is probably like, the best thing I’ve ever done…” Mal pauses, her hands rubbing Evie’s back as she considers something, “Well, actually, scratch that. The best thing I’ve ever done is still definitely that cake from your birthday last year, remember?  _ Dude,  _ that cake really set the bar high -- you’re not even listening to me, are you?” She laughs softly. 

“Mm?” 

Mal laughed again, “Hey, let me shower and then we can cuddle all you want on the couch instead of in the middle of the hallway,” Mal tugs her gently towards the bathroom, “C’mon, you can tell me about your day while I shower.” 

Evie pouted but followed anyway. 

-

The rest of the week passed without a sweat, much to Evie’s relief. Besides the fact that she was not talking to Harry because of a particularly terrible call in which her best friend and his absolute gremlin of a girlfriend, also known as Uma, had spent about ten minutes making fun of her for getting a cat for Mal. Emphasis on the cat. Frankly, you’d think these people would be more mature — well, they aren’t, and neither is Evie, apparently, because she was still ignoring all of Harry’s calls and texts.

But she digresses. 

She was right in assuming Mal would avoid the closet for another week, and soon enough it was Christmas Eve and their friends and family reunited at their apartment for a feast. When everyone had wound down and the clock had struck midnight, Evie had told Mal to close her eyes and brought in their new kitten. Evie was practically knocked off her feet with the force of Mal’s kisses as soon as the kitten meowed from inside the box and the blonde had opened her eyes to see the creature peek from inside the box her girlfriend was holding in her hands. 

And then, after almost a month of living with their cat, or Shadow, as Mal called him (because the cat literally followed her everywhere she went, and because it didn’t go unnoticed by Mal that the cat’s fur was practically the same shade of her hair and their eyes were like, freakishly similar), Evie was starting to get more and more… annoyed, at the sight of the furry creature in their apartment. Shadow wanting to sleep with them on their bed was cute at first, but when Evie kept waking up to whiskers and fur on her face, she started to grow tired of it. She couldn’t properly cuddle her girlfriend now, because the cat refuses to sleep literally anywhere else that wasn’t right in between their faces. 

The first time she’d come home to find Mal dramatically performing both parts of  _ Endless Love  _ to the cat instead of her she found it slightly endearing. Adorable, even. 

And then it happened again.

And again. 

And then it was  _ Unchained Melody _ as she twirled around with the cat, and then there were the reenactments of Titanic scenes. 

Okay, Evie knew she easily got jealous and she really did try to do what she always did, which was repress it and shove it right the hell down like she usually did whenever those ugly feelings came to her. It was a  _ cat,  _ for God’s sake! There was nothing to be jealous of.

But Mal hardly ever wanted to cuddle while watching The Office anymore, too busy cuddling with Shadow. Being goofy with Mal while they watched their favorite shows wasn’t as fun anymore when Mal spent half of the time talking to the cat. 

Evie pouted silently for a few days before she told herself to be a grown adult and logical about this, to realize that she couldn’t always have all of Mal’s attention, because guess fucking what? Evie Grimhilde was a strong and independent Latina woman and she would not lose her dignity by being jealous of a goddamn cat named  _ Shadow. _ She was a Grimhilde. She was the daughter of Quinn Grimhilde, for crying out loud. Child genius. Model extraordinaire. She was a fucking catch, and she could wait it out… right? 

Right.

So she waited. And waited.

And waited.

And one day the damned animal somehow managed to get into the room that Mal used as an art studio for her work while both girls were out and got into the paints, some of which Mal had managed to convince Evie to spend a great deal of hours mixing herself and tracked paint everywhere in the clean, perfectly organized apartment. 

Mal and Evie had spent around three hours cleaning everything, with Mal apologizing profusely to her girlfriend and trying to soothe her at the same time, knowing how much having a clean and organized home was important to her girlfriend. What Mal didn’t know was that the brown eyed girl had already had a frustrating day at work on top of frustrating weeks, what with the fittings going wrong and weird photographers being inappropriate, plus Harry and Uma  _ and  _ Audrey had decided to team up and send her jokes that she absolutely did not find amusing at all. By the time they were done cleaning, Evie was dead silent and if her eyes could freeze, their apartment would be looking like the North Pole and Mal would be a block of ice. 

For the next few days, she didn’t even attempt to hide how she felt about the cat. When Mal and Evie sat together on the couch to watch television, Evie glowered at the tiny creature in her girlfriend’s arms the entire time. When they went to bed, Evie plopped the cat into the barely ever used cat bed and shut and locked their bedroom door with a glare.

And when Mal had asked about the cat’s whereabouts that night, Evie ignored her, pulled her girlfriend in as close as possible and proceeded to fall asleep before she could ask again.

Mal was rather an oblivious person, which is why before they started dating it took her months to realize that Evie was flirting with her. Evie had switched from subtle to desperately and aggressively flirting with her because Mal would just not get it. And once, Mal had also taken Uma’s sarcastic suggestion of telling Evie their relationship just wasn’t the same anymore and that she had met someone else for April Fool’s Day seriously, which led to Evie turning into a crying mess in a minute and led to Mal making up to Evie for her dumb prank for like, a whole week. (Technically, Uma’s dumb prank, who, not surprisingly, still found it absolutely hysterical and always made it a point to remind them of such).

So when Evie’s silent feud with the cat started escalating to the point where Evie had threatened to sleep over at Audrey’s if the animal slept with them in bed again and started to sound more and more like the dad’s girlfriend from  _ The Parent Trap  _ everyday, Mal was a little confused as to why she was so upset.

Thankfully, with confusion comes thinking, and with thinking comes the realization a few days later. 

Mal had to be sure, though, so she’d greet Evie when she got home while she held Shadow in her arms and watch as her girlfriend would send a death glare to the small creature. She’d call the cat every single term of endearment in the book until Evie became fed up and left the room. She’d sing to the cat —more than usual, that is — and watch as Evie rolled her eyes subtly and promptly ignored them. And when she’d decide to cuddle her girlfriend instead of her cat, Mal could practically feel the smugness radiating off of Evie. Mal even mentioned it to Jay while they were working out together and told him what had been going on, just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.

Jay was booming with laughter by the time she was done, and then advising Mal to turn adequate attention back to her girlfriend before Shadow went missing under mysterious circumstances.

-

The next time Evie came home, Mal was waiting for her on the couch with one of the most amused faces Evie had ever seen in her life. 

She squints.

“Did Uma tell you about the birds?” She asked, afraid her secret had been revealed before they were tied by law and Mal couldn’t just leave her. 

Mal frowned, confused, and shook her head, taking a mental note to ask Uma about it later. She was about to ask when she was distracted by the way her girlfriend’s brown eyes darted suspiciously around the room. 

“Sit,” She patted the cushion next to her, “Shadow is sleeping. He’s exhausted from his long day of being a badass little icon.”

“Okay,” Evie muttered with an eyeroll and sat next to her girlfriend, immediately pulling Mal onto her lap, taking advantage of the fact that her small nemesis had fallen asleep.

“I can go wake him up if you want,” Mal says softly, running a hand through Evie’s curls. 

“Nope, I’m good,” Evie said far too quickly to sound casual.

Mal pauses. She’s not sure how to start; she hasn’t given much thought to how she would confront her girlfriend about this… say, “pussy jealousy”, as Harry had called it once Mal had figured out that Uma had put her on speaker so her boyfriend could listen to everything, no doubt to tease the fuck out of his best friend later. (Harry and Uma were… too much to handle, sometimes. Having grown up together, Harry and Evie knew far too much about the other, and Mal honestly did not care to know half of the things that Harry knew about her girlfriend, or vice versa - Uma could destroy this relationship if she wanted to. Some things are just better left unsaid and unknown).

So, she starts off with the one thing she’s sure about.

“Evie, I love you.”

Evie visibly relaxes and her eyes brighten at that, “I love you too.”

“I love you so much,” Mal states.

“I love you so much back,” Evie responds just as promptly.

“I love you mostest.” 

“Are you challenging me?” Evie chuckles, confused and amused, and the sound of it makes Mal’s heart melt all over again, just like it did when they met, when Uma introduced them at Carlos’ birthday party and Mal had cracked a lame joke that left Uma cringing in response and Evie laughing softly. (Some things never change. Uma still cringes at most things Mal says).

“Maybe I am,” She shoots back, closing her eyes when she feels gentle lips pressing against her neck. 

“Alright,” Evie chuckles again and adjusts their position so Mal is lying comfortably on top of her, her blonde head on her girlfriend’s chest. Evie craddles her cheek so softly that if Mal hadn’t fallen for the other girl years ago when she’d first seen her from across the room, laughing with Harry and Carlos, she was sure this moment would have been it.

Evie’s often an outspoken person; never afraid to speak her mind and defend her beliefs. She’s so eloquent and well spoken that most people are intimidated by her, or completely taken by her. Evie was a storm that was never quiet, and whenever she was rendered speechless, Mal couldn’t really find it in her to look away.

She can tell this is one of those moments because of the way Evie bites at the corner of her lip and the way that her light brown eyes are staring into Mal’s so intensely, so passionate, as if Mal held all the answers she was looking for, as if she knew all of the words she needed to use; Mal saves her the trouble by leaning up to kiss her gently. The only thing that she can hear, smell, taste and feel is Evie. She’s not exactly a religious person herself, but for a small moment, Mal thinks that this is probably what heaven is like - Evie’s body pressed up against hers, hands holding her as if she might disappear at any moment. 

They keep going until oxygen is needed and pull back, breathing heavily. Mal has to take a moment to at gather herself because she’s completely forgotten why she had Evie sit on this couch in the first place. Hell, she can’t even remember her own name with the way Evie’s looking at her right now.

Mal clears her throat and moves off her girlfriend’s body, and Evie makes a noise of protest and tugs at Mal’s arm and pouts when she fails to pull her back.

“Oh, stop it, you,” Mal says, swatting the girl lightly on her stomach. Eventually, she gives in, and to compromise, she settles to sit on top of Evie’s hips, two legs on each side of the girl as she stares up at the ceiling, trying to come up with words.

Evie tugs at Mal’s shirt to get her attention, “You’re not about to fake break up with me again, right?”

That snaps her out of her trance, and then Mal’s looking down at Evie and blurting out the last words Uma had said to her over the phone, “We need to fix our pussy problem!”

“ _ Que _ ?!” Evie practically chokes on air and sits up quickly, pushing Mal to sit on the couch as she tries to position herself properly. “What the  _ fuck _ , Mal?”

“No, not like that! Not like, um… you know! Um, I mean…” With eyes wide and face flushed in embarrassment, Mal takes a deep breath and tries again. “Shadow! The cat. I mean the cat. With you know, the legs and everything.” 

Evie quickly recovers from her shocked state at the mention of the cat, and then her face turns unreadable. “Oh.”

The blonde sighs.

“Look, I know I’ve been paying a lot more attention to Shadow lately and I know it’s been… um, bothering you?” She phrases the last part a little unsure, careful not to say the wrong thing. They both knew that Evie could be a jealous person, that it was in her nature even though she tried to deny it, but Mal was aware that Evie wouldn’t appreciate it if she called her unfriendliness towards the cat for what it actually was. 

“He’s just a cat,” Evie says flatly. 

Mal nods, “Yes, he is.” 

“Okay?” It was super nice that Mal noticed how she felt (because Evie sure was fucking hell would not have said anything out loud, because let’s face it, it’s dumb), but she still didn’t know what was Mal’s point. She didn’t know if Mal was going to lecture her about it, or if Mal was going to group call Harry, Uma and Audrey so they could tease the fuck out of her, or if her mother was going to come out of a room and smack some sense into her daughter’s head or exactly what direction this conversation was headed towards.

“Shadow is special to me.” 

_ Fantastic _ . This was going to be one of those viral internet stories about leaving your significant other because she didn’t like the new pet or something as humiliating as that.

“And he’s special to me because  _ you _ gave him to me. Especially after I annoyed you for so long to get him, and you know, after I’ve wanted a pet for so long. And also because like, in my mind, Shadow kinda represents us taking that next step, you know? Like, it’s a huge deal to me, and I take good care of him because of that. I mean, how would you have felt if I just put him aside and ignored him after the first day?”

Evie mumbled something incoherent into her chest as she fiddled with her hair. 

“But that aside,” Mal continues, reaching for Evie’s hand to still her movements, “You have the right to be upset. I’ve been spoiling him, which is probably why he eats off my plate.”

Evie scoffs at that. Mal smiles, “I should’ve been paying more attention to you and spoiling you more.” 

Evie mumbles something again and Mal laughs softly. “I didn’t get that.”

“I said thank you.” 

“I’d say you should’ve just told me, but we both know that this is not something you just tell to someone you plan on marrying,” Mal chuckles when Evie glares and leans forward to peck her lips, “And I know how much you missed being spoiled with kisses, you big whiny baby.”

“I’m not a baby.”

“But you’re big and whiny?” 

“Yes,” Evie responds, unbothered. Mal laughs and pecks her lips again.

“We can make sure Shadow sleeps off the bed or in a different room if you want.” 

“Can you get my knit sweater back, too?” Evie asks her with soft, pleading eyes, referring to the blue sweater that her abuela had knit for her when she went away for college.

Mal furrows her eyebrows. “What happened to it?”

“Shadow took it,” Mal bites her lip to stop herself from laughing, but her girlfriend notices it anyway. “I tried to take it back! But the little bitch attacked me!” Evie defends herself fiercely, showing Mal the scars on her tanned arms. 

“Fine, I’ll get you your sweater back. Anything else my big whiny top demands?” She teases.

Evie stares her down for a moment before she frowns.

“Can you ask Uma to quit texting me pussy jokes? I blocked her number but she’s using Harry’s phone to do it.”

This time, Mal doesn’t hold it back -- she cackles. 

**Author's Note:**

> comments make me happy!


End file.
